DATE: December 12, 2023
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Melissa Cregan, Agricultural Commissioner/Sealer of Weights and Measures
SUBJECT: Amendment to Master Schedule of Fees - Department of Agriculture
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
1. Conduct first hearing to amend the Fresno County Master Schedule of Fees, Charges and Recovered Costs Ordinance by amending subsection 3305 of Section 3300-Agriculture (Weights & Measures); waive reading of the Ordinance in its entirety; and set second hearing for January 9, 2024;
2. Designate County Counsel to prepare a fair and adequate summary of the proposed Ordinance; and
3. Direct the Clerk of the Board to post and publish the required summary of the proposed Ordinance in accordance with Government Code Section 25124(b)(1).
REPORT
Assembly Bill (AB) 1304 approved by the Governor on October 8, 2023, amends Sections 12240 and 12246 of the Business and Professions Code, relating to weights and measures. AB 1304 extends, until January 1, 2029, the authority for a county sealer to recover the costs related to the inspection and testing of weighing and measuring devices; increases the business location fees for all specified devices; increases the per device fee on: water submeters, vapor meters, computing and electronic counter scales interfaced with a cash register or any point-of-sale system, and any other commercial weighing and measuring device not specified; and increases the per location fee cap for specified devices. These changes require an amendment to the Fresno County Master Schedule of Fees (MSF), which requires approval by the Board of Supervisors. The Department would like to adopt the new fee maximums set by the State legislature in AB 1304 by updating the MSF for 2024. The new fee caps allow the Department to recover a larger portion of program expenses associated with inspecting and testing of devices. This item is countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
Should the Board choose not to approve the increases...
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